Are You Working Out as Hard as You Think?

A recent study says you could be slacking without even knowing it.

Research has shown that we're not so great at judging the amount of calories in food. And now a recent study finds that we're not so spectacular at guessing how hard we're pushing ourselves during a workout either.

Researchers from York University in Canada asked 129 people to work out by walking/jogging at a light, moderate, or vigorous rate (in a random order). While the participants exercised on the treadmill, the researchers tracked their heart rates and compared them with how fast the participants' hearts should actually be pumping for their respective levels of exertion. And while the people studied were fairly good at aiming for a light workout, most didn't do so well at identifying the speed at which they needed to be moving to reach the heart rate of a moderate or vigorous workout. Womp.

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It's unclear why we're not nailing our workouts as well as we could be, but study co-author Jennifer Kuk, Ph.D., a professor of health and fitness at York University, says public health campaigns meant to fight obesity and encourage people to get active often emphasize that physical activity is easier than you think. That might make people believe they don't need to work hard to get the health benefits of exercise, she says.

So how can you tell if you're sweating it out to the best of your abilities? We rounded up a few techniques you can use to make sure you're getting the most out of a workout:

Track Your Heart Rate
One of the best ways to reliably tell how hard you're working during cardio or strength training is by using your heart rate, says Michelle Lovitt, a celebrity trainer and Asics America conditioning coach. For a moderate workout, she says to try to reach between 60 and 70 percent of your maximum heart rate. An intermediate workout should fall between 70 and 80 percent, and vigorous workouts should get your heart pumping to at least 85 percent of your max rate. To find out if you're hitting these numbers, Lovitt says you can use a little bit of math: To find your max heart rate, take your age times .67 and subtract that from 220. From there, you can find out what percentage of your max heart rate you're actually reaching and if you need to crank up the intensity. If you have trouble taking your own pulse, Lovitt suggests using the heart rate monitor on the cardio machine you're using or, better yet, investing in a heart rate monitor, which she says is the most precise way to figure out how hard you're working.

Try the Talk Test
Another accurate way to measure if you're working as hard as you should be is the talk test, says Rachel Cosgrove, a certified strength and conditioning specialist, author of Drop Two Sizes, and creator of the Women's Health Spartacus 4.0 Workout in the Women's Health Personal Trainer subscription tool. If you can talk in sentences or sing a song during a cardio or strength-training workout, then you're ready to push harder, says Cosgrove, who usually uses this test with clients when she doesn't have a heart rate monitor on hand. If you can only say one to two words at a time (or the only thing you can get out is "erghh"), then you're right on track.

Think About How Hard You're Working MentallyBrett Hoebel, celebrity trainer, nutrition expert on The Biggest Loser season 11, and creator of the "20 Minute Body," says one of his go-to tests is what he calls the "chatter test": when a voice in your head tells you it's time to stop during a tough gym session. When it's silent, he says, you might not be pushing yourself quite hard enough. If your mind is saying, "Ugh, this is really hard. Can we stop now?" then you pass—it should feel like you have to fight mentally to finish the workout.

Check How You Feel Post-Workout
If you're wondering how you did after a sweat session, assess how your body feels, says Lovitt. Feel like you could run some errands or clean your house? You probably did more of a moderate workout, which burns body fat and saves your muscle glycogen for other activities. If you're really tired and craving a bagel or other carbs, you probably had a vigorous workout. This is because a more intense workout burns your body's stored sugar and body fat, she says.

Though it's great to keep pushing yourself through tough workouts, Hoebel says you should never feel unbalanced, dizzy, or have your form break down. That's the point when you've worked out too hard. If you feel these symptoms, listen to what your body needs, whether that means slowing down and sipping some water, or calling it quits for the day.